Prep Girls Hoops: Lutheran pulls away late for sectional win

Tuesday

Feb 25, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Matt TrowbridgeRockford Register Star

BELVIDERE - The game within Lutheran's game is simple: Get the ball to Abby Woolacott.

"Our focus is to go through Abby first; she is so strong and has such a great touch inside," coach Joni Carlson said Monday after Lutheran's 67-57 Class 3A Belvidere Sectional semifinal victory over Woodstock.

Woolacott had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Kailyn Strawbridge had most of her 11 assists by feeding Woolacott on backdoor cuts.

"It's easy to get her the ball with the chemistry we have," Strawbridge said. "And she is always ready."

"Our guards are very good at passing," said Woolacott, a 6-foot-2 sophomore who shot 10-for-14. "It's nice to get good passes."

Lutheran's guards are also good at scoring. Especially in crunch time. The lead changed hands 10 times in the second half, with Lutheran trailing as late as 49-48 with 5:20 to play. But Baillie McGirk scored 15 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter to help the Crusaders (19-10) pull away.

"I tend to do that a lot," McGirk said sheepishly, drawing giggles from Strawbridge and Woolacott. "In the fourth quarter, if we're down by a little bit, I just know we need some points, so I drive."

Cody Brand, a 6-foot senior center, scored 22 points to keep underdog Woodstock (9-19) close until the final minutes. After McGirk drove the baseline for a layup that put the Crusaders ahead to stay, 50-49, Woodstock missed three contested layups and had a turnover on its next four possessions, and Lutheran turned them all into fastbreak points the other way.

"That was the name of the game," Carlson said. "The first half was the opposite. We wouldn't get a call, we'd miss a layup and they'd come down and hit one. It finally turned for us."

Lutheran, tied for third in the Big Northern West, will play BNC East champ Burlington Central (24-3) in Thursday night's title game.

Burlington Central 42, Sycamore 28: Sam Pryor, a 6-foot sophomore, scored all 13 of her points in the second half to rally the Rockets, but the biggest story was Burlington Central's defense. The Rockets trailed 10-4 after one quarter and 20-18 at the half, but held Sycamore to a single point in the first 13:45 of the second half. Bailey Gilbert led Sycamore (18-7) with 11 points and three 3-pointers.